Memphis/UT

Blitz, they play basketball on the other side of the Rockies.

UCLA

 

Um, thanks?

 

Which is why Dorsey completely disappears in most big games. Pearl and his boys neutralized him without much effort.

Looking at the stats, UT beat Memphis in Memphis with seven points from Lofton, ZERO 3s from Lofton, six 3s from the whole team, and by out-rebounding Memphis 50-34. So much for that whole "live and die by the 3" comment. Tennessee can beat people lots of ways now, with a lot of athletes who can run your legs off every night. CDR and Rose were too tired to finish.

The Vols are going to be a tough out in March. They have a lot more good players than many realize, and they don't just jack 40 3s every game any more. They finished at Xavier on a 13-0 run, and they finished at Memphis with an 8-1 run.

 

Was I the only one who thought this was one of the most blah 1-2 college hoops games in recent memory? The first five minutes or so were awesome...but after that it was just a combination of both teams clanking shots, Memphis missing free throws, Chris Lofton being Chris Lofton (overrated) and Joey Dorsey being an asshole.
Neither of these teams will be left come San Antonio time. Mark it down.

 

The style of play looked a lot more like Rucker Park than Madison Square Garden, but I like Pearl. I think it will be very tough to get Tennessee out of the tourney.

 

I've got a gut feeling it's going to be a UT/ut final.

 

You're welcome.

 

Tennessee: very athletic, very undisciplined.

I won't be surprised if the Vols exit the tournament early.

 

I was thinking the same thing reading this thread. Everyone is pretty down on Memphis around here, but there's no way they're losing to an 8-9 team. They're almost more difficult to upset (hence the 26-1 record) because they are just so much more athletic than most teams that weaker teams struggle to overcome that. When they face the top teams with talent to match them, they obviously can get into trouble. But I've seen a few games this year where they just completely overwhelmed their opponents with their athleticism.

It was mentioned in that SI story about the DDM offense, and it's something I've thought of watching this team: Calipari needs to make his No. 1 priority recruiting a deadly outside shooter. With so many guys able to get to the hoop they'd be unstoppable if they could just plant someone outside and knock down 3's off of kick outs all night, or to combat the zones they invariably see because teams can't check them man-to-man.

 

My thoughts exactly. Pearl's energy rubs off on them, but they're about as fundamentally sound as that orange jacket is dull.
Wouldn't be shocked if they don't even win the lackluster SEC tourney.

 

You know, they are 25-2, been No. 1 in the RPI for weeks, have played the second toughest schedule in the country, just beat the No. 1 team in the country on the road and beat Xavier and Gonzaga on the road (in Seattle, but basically on the road).

No, they're not always the most fundamental, but that's not what Pearl's system is about. It's about playing as fast as possible with as many possessions as possible in a game, and it's about wearing down opponents. It's about creating turnovers and being OK with a few layups allowed every game because of it, and it's about allowing some stupid plays on offense if the players are playing hard on defense. That's always been his style, and he's been incredibly successful everywhere he's been. His teams look stronger, better conditioned and more versatile than almost everyone they face, and this one has three senior guards who can all be snipers behind the arc. You better get up by double-digits in the final moments against them, because they finish strong — 13-0 at Xavier and 8-1 at Memphis.

I can't say for sure that any team is better than them — maybe Kansas, UCLA, North Carolina and Texas when those teams play well. But then again, if any of those teams played well and Tennessee played well, I don't know that Tennessee would lose. That's a very versatile team with two good players at all five spots.

 

Vols fan maybe?